The Dream
by ThatOneTard
Summary: On Hiatus. Naruto is living the dream. He has a perfect family, his best friend pardoned of all his crimes and his dream job.But something is wrong. Suddenly, Naruto has come to the realization that things are a little too perfect. Shikamaru was right. It was a rabbit hole he should have left alone. Now Naruto must cope with what's lost and fight to get a good future back.
1. The Awakening

_This idea has been spinning in my head for days now. I know it's really late and cliche to do something like this but here it is. I needed to get it out and unleash it on the internet. Read at your own risk and blame certain 90s movies and the fact that the end of the manga left so many fans frustrated with numerous elements. Because of this, I felt the need to throw this out for them (even though personally I'm content with ending). Also, as I had originally intended this to be quick indulging one-shot, the writing reflects that._

* * *

 **THE DREAM**

 **Part 1: the Awakening**

* * *

Man, he was living the dream.

Naruto couldn't help think this as he sat in his office chair, staring out the window. It was a beautiful day, as usual. Unfortunately, like usual, there were also hordes of paperwork to go through. With the end of the Chunin Exams, things were busier than ever.

He smiled, swiveling his chair around to face his desk. On it were numerous picture frames. Centermost was a picture of his family. His loving wife and two adorable children. Himawari, the youngest and most adorable of them all. And his son. It was almost like looking into a mirror.  
 _My son,_ he beamed. _A Chunin!_

True things had started off rocky, but Boruto was following his daddy's footsteps and he couldn't be prouder.

Behind their first child, his wife smiled back at him in the picture. Hair still long then. He still couldn't fathom how he had ended up with such a wonderful woman. And from the backgrounds they had come from. His friends used to joke that in the village's old days, their relationship was the equivalent of Lady and the Tramp. She the lady and he obviously the tramp who had no wealth or good background.

He chuckled thinking how much more miraculous it was for Sakura to have gotten Sasuke. Now that was an interesting story...

Now that he thought of it, he couldn't exactly recall how it happened. As if there were gaps in his memory.

"That's odd," he muttered, rubbing his head.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

He didn't know why, but the lack of memory kept bothering him.

And not knowing something only wanted to make him search for answers.

He had started in the Hokage's Library, where nearly everything was documented in scrolls and files. Physical copies were much more protected than digital ones. As the Hokage, only he had access to them.

One there, he began searching the files. He found a few notes, but they were very brief, and not thorough enough to be content. What's more, some accounts were missing. Like Sasuke's trial. He couldn't remember it and there was no way on earth he would have spaced on something like that.

Frantically he tore through the shelf, and the next one, and the next one after that but still found no documentation for it whatsoever. Only one brief note and it was extremely vague.

"Someone stole them," he concluded. But why? And who would have had access?

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

He had the surveillance tapes for the library brought to him. He must have spent hours fast-forwarding through them, hoping for some answers. But still, thievery didn't explain the gaps in his memory.

"You're being ridiculous, Naruto," his assistant insisted, seated beside him and watching his quest in disapproval.

Naruto answered, not lifting his eyes from the TV screen. "I know I am but...It just bothers me, Shikamaru."

It was as if he was possessed. He wasn't going to stop until he got to the end of it.

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed at his goatee boredly. "You're wasting time."

 _You're one to talk. You're the king of dozing off._

"Perhaps, but perhaps not. This could be important."

"How so?"

"Because I can't remember them. How funky is that?" The tape automatically ejected from the VCR, having run to the end. No results whatsoever. Only he had stepped in that library since his inauguration as Hokage and he certainly hadn't tampered with anything. If no one had stolen them...They hadn't been filed in the first place.

"You're thinking too hard."

Now Shikamaru was starting to frustrate him.

"I swear," he said. "There's things missing. There's gaps from after the war that just don't make sense! Why is that?"

"Naruto," Shikamaru said, placing his hands on his shoulders. "It's only because you've always been the slacker and have never payed close attention to political affairs."

"I'm not _that_ bad," he whined. "And now that I think about it, why are all the files missing from after the war? And not just files, people too! Whatever happened to the village elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane?"

He could never forget the three stooges that had triggered one of the most horrible events in Konoha history. The ones who had approved the Uchiha Massacre. The ones who deserved to face justice for it.

"Naruto..." Shikamaru said, tone one of warning.

"Tell me!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "I don't know those people."

"How could you _not_! They were part of the old council!"

"I'm the Council."

Naruto's teeth gritted. _Shikamaru's part of this!_

"How was Orochimaru pardoned for his crimes?! And S-Sasuke?"

"You don't want to follow this rabbit, Naruto."

"Yes, I do."

"Trust me. _You don't_."

"Shikamaru, I'm serious. Something is wrong, I can feel it in my gut and I have to trust this instinct!"

"You speak nonsense, Naruto." His tone was almost robotic. "Besides, if this is a false world, would you want to go back to the real one? Everything you've ever wanted is here."

"I..."

 _Wait, he used the words "false world"...I've heard those words before._

Echoes of memory reverberated in his head.

 _The Fourth War..._

Madara...Sasuke...and the Moon.

His assistant lifted a set of paperwork and held it out to him. "Just do your work. Your family is waiting for you."

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto stepped back.

"I...I need to take the night off."

"The Hokage can't take a night off."

 _What?!_

Now something definitely was up—how had he not noticed before? How many nights had he spent in these walls, or in others, constantly working. Enough that he barely got to time to himself. This mantle of being Hokage had become a distraction, a prison. A grand one, but still a distraction. Madara's or his. It didn't matter.

In all his life, he never remembered the Hokage being as made busy as he had been.  
And he couldn't afford to let it wall him anymore, so he ran.

Shikamaru rushed in front of the door, blocking him. "It's not time to leave the office yet! There's still work for you to do!"

"I'm the freakin' Hokage," he exclaimed, slamming his elbow into the man's face. "I'm going home!"

The form of Shikamaru doubled back...and began morphing. Colors faded. Faded into white. Features blended in, giving shape to a genderless and indistinguishable form.

A Zetsu.

"Shikamaru!" He bent down, shaking it. "Man, get up! If this is a joke it's not funny!"

But Shikamaru's psyche was no more.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

He ran home as fast as he could.

Crashed through the house, screaming his wife's name. She was slumped on the couch, a wet cloth placed on her forehead.

"Hinata!" He kneeled beside the couch, hugging her. "Thank goodness you're here. Something bad is happening and...What's wrong?"

"Oh," she moaned. "I feel odd..."

Her aura...He could feel it fading from him.

"Not you too!"

Like Shikamaru, her form gave in to a spasm and morphed. Her metamorphosis complete, a Zetsu lay where she had been.

"NO!" he screamed, trying to grasp her body but his wife no longer existed, and what remained withered like a fallen leaf.

"Cripes," he cried. "Not like this! Ugh!"

He crumbled to the floor, pounding his fist against it.

He didn't need to see the rest of the house to know that their precious children weren't there.

They had only been his projections.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

He walked along the now-bleak streets, head pointed downward. And for the first time in a very long time, the throngs of people did not take notice of him as he passed by.

"How could this have happened?"

It was like they had been a dream. And now the two dreams had been shattered.

Being Hokage. Married to the Hyuuga's Heiress.

It was like when he had acknowledged something was odd, the illusion of them broke.

He was afraid to meet with Sakura to see what this world would do to her. Afraid to see everyone else for that matter.

But. He had to talk to someone. This had to be just some elaborate Genjutsu he had been trapped in. And he knew one person who could clear him up on this.

 _Sasuke._

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

No matter how hard he looked, Sasuke wasn't there. And no one had seen him at all. It was like he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Just like the elders from the old council.

But somehow, though Naruto couldn't explain it, he knew Sasuke had not fallen victim to the strange Zetsu metamorphosis. He just wasn't here anymore.

Or maybe he had never been in the first place.

Maybe, like the children, the pardoned Sasuke from after the war had just been his projection of his best friend all this time.

He ran for the village gates, the run the only thing keeping him sane.

 _'Kurama!'_ he mentally cried to the beast dwelling inside him. _'I can't break myself out of this! I need your Bijuu chakra!'_

 _ **'You are speaking nonsense, Naruto.'**_

 _'You're a part of this too!'_

 _ **'This is the real world,'**_ the fox answered quietly. Too quietly. When had been the last time the fox had scorned him for something?

 _'Then how do you explain the Zetsu and the fact no one on the street has once acknowledged me!?'_

 _ **'...'**_

 _'Send your chakra through me as if to break Genjutsu, and if nothing changes, I really am wrong and am probably asleep at the office and having a nightmare.'_

 _ **'Are you sure you want me to do this?'**_

Shikamaru's words came back to him. _"Besides, if this is a false world, would you want to go back to the real one? Everything you've ever wanted is here."_

He swallowed hard. _'This dream may be what I want but, morally, if this is all fake I can't stay here. Deep down I could never forgive myself.'_

He wanted the truth. Even if it might be bitter. A world of war. Hate.

And love.

The real world could be beautiful, even with the many ugly things in it. It was the ugly things that made the beautiful all the more precious. Made it worth fighting for.

Peace from a real victory. He'd take that over any illusion any day.

 _'Kurama'_ he said firmly. _'Break me free!'_

The strong chakra that could only be the source of one of the Bijuu swam through him, shaking him to his very core. And the world. It flashed out. Lights changed, and he was suddenly in pitch black.

He gasped, his breath lost to him as if he was breathing for the first time.

Smothered, he clawed. He clawed and clawed for life, ripping the substance around him to shreds.

And they peeled away like layers of flesh. Fluttered away like old newspapers.

And then he was falling.

Landing.

Dirt.

Pain.

He cracked his eyes open, white piercing them.

Too white. He lowered his gaze, avoiding the great orb of white centered in the sky.

"Isn't that the moon for Infinite Tsukuyomi?" he uttered, voice cracked. "But how...?"

Thinking back real hard he did remember Madara successfully triggering it...But hadn't Sasuke's Susanoo protected them? And that's when they fought Kaguya and won the war?

Keeping his gaze down, he carefully looked around.

The world was just white and carnage, blowing away dust. Including the dust of a skeleton, lain beside a gunbai...

Then there were giant roots all over the place. As if a great tree had taken hold of the entire world. Ah, yes, he remembered its name now.

 _The Divine Tree._

Behind him, the great tree. Filled with many suspended bodies attached to it. Prisoners just as he had been.

And too many to loosen with Kurama's chakra. It would take more than that. Their bodies were way too far in their dreamworld and conversion to be broken out like he had.

A few of them had fallen, and Zetsu were left in their place. Walking along the cracked earth, one of the bland beings noticed him sitting there, free from his dreamland prison. It cocked its head to the side, eyes narrowing threateningly.

Gasping he tried leaping back only to buckle back to the dirt, collapsing and panting. His legs weren't working!

"Oh, shi—"

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

 **TO BE CONTINUED IN:**

 **Part 2 _the Rabbit Hole_**

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

* * *

 _ **As requested** , I will continue this indulgment for the unsatisfied people who would like the story to continue differently. And when I do I'll have it revealed just what had happened before...and where Sasuke and other select few like the Hokage are in the real world. This will mean playing around with Kaguya and Toneri too..._

 _But I doubt I'll go through the trouble. Just watch_ the Matrix _or_ the Truman Show _if you like this kind of story._ Incepetion _'s good too._


	2. Down the Rabbit Hole

**AN:** I _am going to do something a couple of times that may or may not cause confusion._ _If it does,_ _**it's supposed to.**_ _Reality and illusion and a blurring line between them are going to be themes for this short story and the writing style here will clear up very quickly...Also...because I had intended the first part to be a one-shot, I hadn't really stopped to think about the consequences of what I was doing...But I knew I would have to face it if I was going to continue and a huge focus of this second and even third part will be dealing with something I did that was very wrong and will never even think to do in other fics._

* * *

 **PREVIOUSLY:**

 **He'd been living the dream, but all too soon the utter truth that things were just too perfect had made itself known...And once it did, there was no going back.**

 **And so, he finds himself freed from the Infinite Tsukuyomi's prison but surrounded by a lifeless desert...and Zetsu.**

Walking along the cracked earth, one of the bland beings noticed Naruto sitting there, free from the tree's coiled binds. It cocked its head to the side, eyes narrowing threateningly.

Gasping, Naruto tried leaping back only to buckle back to the dirt, collapsing and panting. His legs weren't working!

"Oh, shi—"

* * *

 **THE DREAM**

 **Part 2: Down the Rabbit Hole**

* * *

His arms raced in front of his face, his muscles instinctively hardening for impact. But none came.

Instead a loud exclamation, the words blurry—and an explosion. Dust flew everywhere, filling up his already clouded lungs. He gagged, hands racing to cover his mouth and nose from the debris that covered all but the glaringly white moon...

 _Whoosh!_

"The moon really is drawing closer to the Earth."

"Huh?"

Naruto looked up. Sai was peering at him.

Naruto blinked a couple of times before he looked around and saw a campfire before them. Sai poked a stick at it. They had...they had just cleared a spot for it from the snow but the frail flame still left much to be desired. It wasn't doing much to relieve them of the crisp, cold air.

Naruto shivered. It...It was cold. He could feel goosebumps on his skin. Feel the skin that was exposed sting from the frigid air. _Fog.._.

"I said," Sai continued, "that the moon's so big now. Look."

Naruto lifted his eyes and could only stare in wonder. There were no words to explain how strange a sensation it was to see the moon just glaring at them head on as if to challenge them. After a moment of memorizing its every dark feature and detail, Naruto beamed proudly.

If it was a challenge, save the girl, save the day, he was still going to meet it head-on and come out the victor. The world wasn't going to end on his watch.

Suddenly as if to protest against his resolve an angry streak of red flung itself across the sky, bringing with it a whoosh of glowing ember and heat.

Sai was the first to spring up. "Another meteor from the moon! Move!"

He felt something—someone collide into him, ramming him backward and grit his teeth at the impact and sudden flaring pain in his backside.

Sai, stop! he wanted to scream but his voice wouldn't come out from his cracked lips. Why did he feel so dizzy all of a sudden?

"Move it, fool, ya fool!"

Another set of explosions erupted and the ground trembled, smoke, not fog continued to blur his vision. His ears rang and all he could was lay there curled up protectively, waiting for the attacks to stop, his view lopsided. He wasn't laying in the snow...Just dry earth. Very dead dry earth. He breathed in slowly, blinking. It was...luke warm. The air sticky.

And the moon...

It...

Yeah, hadn't he just...broken some Genjutsu? He felt so unbelievably disoriented, his muscles like lead.

Sounds died down, the Zetsu apparently dispatched. Why was he surrounded by Zetsu again? It had been at least, what, a _decade_ since he'd last had to put up with them.

A figure was coming towards him looking more like a blur than an actual person. Their words indecipherable. But he sensed no malice from them.

Dust shifted from under the feet...

He'd been here before. After the war, or some place just like it. He was captured. Yeah, that explained it, his limbs were numb, and he literally drained of chakra, or rather they were trying to drain him of all of it and the result of their effort rewarded him with an extreme lack of energy and just hurt, each breath a pain. But he still gave a cocky smile.

"We shinobi...don't like to make things easy."

Then he was falling, there was a swipe in the air, his bonds loosened and an arm wrapped around him, guiding him to a safe landing. Grounded, but still weary, his heart soared with relief and happiness as dark eyes stared at him.

"Sasuke?"

"Kid, come on, I can't be draggin' ya, so get them legs chuggin', yeah."

Naruto blinked, jerking upright in the arm half carrying him. It wasn't Sasuke. Wasn't even nighttime. He shook his head, trying to free himself from the memory.

"Ki...B?" he struggled. Swallowing, he tried again. "Killer B?"

The dark-skinned arm around him tightened. "No one else but. Now come on, kid."

What...what was happening?

He gave his surroundings another glance. It looked like...Before the war?

But...

"We won," he whispered. "Why does...everything...look like this?"

This scene, it was from over a decade ago.

Killer B looked down somberly. "Ain't so, fool."

"But..."

"And it took forever to get back to you."

Naruto gave a confused "Huh?" again, feeling utterly lost.

The man gave a prideful smile. Sand-like dirt coated him, sticking to his sweat. Naruto could only guess that this hadn't been his first battle today. And he spoke, slightly out of breath, "Think you were the only one it took to rip you from that jutsu? Nah, took the Hachibi's chakra too, bro. Bijuu chakra, big cost, but had ta. You's the key we need. Kapesh?"

What was he talking about? _We?_

B didn't spare any more words, but instead jerked forward again, pushing him further away from the tree he'd woken up by. "They're gonna be after us now. We need to get out of here."

Naruto's head hurt. None of this made sense. How could he be back here, before the war's end? And why did he feel so weak...and small? Short legs answered that and he fell down, groaning in complaint.

Seriously. All he wanted was the truth. So far, what he got was a confusing mess and mesh of weird sensations. Like why did he suddenly feel shorter?

Killer B scoffed, leaning down to help guide him forward again, muscular arm wrapping around his side. B seemed...thinner. The features on his face sharper. Bags under his eyes. The small shades he always wore were cracked, exposing such tell-tale signs of his fatigue.

Just what had happened? And—

"Hinata!" Naruto gasped. "Where's my wife?!"

His feet came to a forced stop and the rapper shook his head. "We gotta go!"

"No! We need to look for—"

He was forcibly pulled forward. "We can't go back to the tree, them Zetsu are like ants and pretty soon that place'll be swarming, looking for you and they'll be all up in our pants!"

Why could Naruto not sense her anymore!?

Was she—No, he wouldn't even think that. There was no way any of this was right!

Panic filled him, scaring him to death. This place was dead. Hinata was dead. And this B...This imposter was trying to drag him further into this hell.

"LET ME GO BACK!"

He was grabbed hold of with both of the bigger man's arms. "You wanna die! Well, you ain't allowed, fool, ya fool!"

Dang it! If only he had enough chakra and didn't feel so nauseous, he would be able to take this guy on.

"I have to go back! I have to find Hinata!" he screamed, doing the only thing he could do which was hit and kick weakly at a man who clearly had no intention of letting him go back to the tree. "LET GO! I HAVE TO FIND HER!"

The moon watched from overhead cruelly.

 _To the moon and back. It was their cheesy little motto._

 _The most memorable incident of him quoting it in particular still rang in his mind. He'd just gotten off work, the night air was a comfortable cool and he met her on the back porch. She was sitting on the rail, just staring out. She'd been quiet the last few days. When she did speak, her voice seemed to have been filled with worry as she rubbed her forehead._

 _He'd chalked it to lack of energy after putting up with the kids and house all day._ _But..._

The form of Zetsu lying on the couch where she'd been...

" _Man," he cooed coming in from behind her. "Coming home so late after being glued to a chair and paperwork...Makes me miss being a kid. I feel so old."_

 _She giggled, leaning into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her. "Hard to believe it's been so long. Or..." She paused for emphasis. "Or that today you're thirty_ —"

" _Shhhhhh! Don't remind me, honey!"_

 _She laughed and they just sat there for awhile, staring at the night sky._

" _Hey Naruto," she suddenly said, voice just so darn sad._

" _Huh?"_

" _Will you still love me when I'm old and gray?"_

 _He pulled her in tightly to him, feeling her soft warmth. "Why would you ask something like that?"_

" _I just_ — _"_

" _I will always love you," he cut in, not letting her finish her grim explanation. "Always. To the moon and back."_

 _She pushed him, laughing. "Oh stop it."_

" _And you want to know something else?"_

" _What is it?"_

 _He cupped the back of her head with one hand, and drew it forward, kissing her. The other hand slid under the waistline of her skirt. "Both the kids are in bed."_

 _Her face burned and he chuckled before his arms looped under her, picking her up. He carried her like this all the way upstairs, smiling the entire time as she giggled with embarrassment at his pandering._

 _It'd been amazing that night, but he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she knew...She knew something was wrong with her._

When she'd disappeared a Zetsu took her place. Both at home and in the nightmare that he was in now. Whichever was real...In both, he felt the terrible loss of her and he couldn't fight back the sob of that heart-wrenching truth.

Her chakra was gone.

And she wasn't the only one. The great mass of chakra that had been the united shinobi army...It had dwindled down drastically.

He bucked from his captor, or tried, mostly crying at this point. "Kami's sake, let me go back!"

What he wanted, they both knew no one could give him.

"It's too late and going back would just be suicide, they know where you are now."

 _No, I can't accept this. I won't. This can't be real! She's out there somewhere_ — _along with everyone else! As Hokage, I have to find them, break through this trick of the enemy!_

Killer B didn't understand! He had to get this nasty mess sorted out. He couldn't lose her or anyone else! This thought burned through Naruto hotly, giving him a fresh wave of resolve. His struggling intensified. But the man was relentless in trying to carry him out of there. "Stop fighting me, Naruto! We have to get to the base!"

"NO!" Naruto let out a battle cry, swinging his fists at B before pain exploded in the back of his neck and his vision flashed before fading into a deep black.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

 **TO BE CONTINUED IN:**

 **Part 3: You Should Have Just Taken the Blue Pill**

 _Naruto wakes, the events are laid bare, and he reminisces on the family he's lost while another is gained once again._

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

 **QUESTIONS I WILL** _ **SOON**_ **ANSWER; IF YOU THINK OF SOMETHING THAT ISN'T LISTED, LET ME KNOW:**

 _ **Hinata and Shikamaru were converted into Zetsu? How the heck did Naruto see that happen in his dream world?**_ _Trust me, I have an answer for that._

 _ **How did he end up in the Infinite Tsukuyomi in the first place? Hadn't Sasuke's Susanoo protected the team?**_

 _ **Oh, Sasuke, shouldn't he be free from the effects of the Genjutsu, so where is he? Why was Naruto left alone?**_

 _ **How about the Hokage for that matter, the Reanimated are exempt from its spell as well.**_

 _ **There was a skeleton by a gunbai in the first part...Madara?**_

 _ **Just what happened after the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast?**_

 _ **Where is B trying to take Naruto?**_

 _ **And all matters of Kaguya...**_

* * *

 _ **And holy crap, I, the HotPinkWriter, a big NaruHina fan, kinda killed off Hinata (and Shikamaru)...How will that affect Naruto's future?**_

 _*cries in corner* It's too late now. I'll let you guys have a say in that because this is just indulging drivel._


	3. Should Have Taken the Blue Pill

**THE DREAM**

 **Part 3: Should Have Taken the Blue Pill**

* * *

He awoke to the sensation of something metallic touching his lips, and the sound of a soft voice. "Drink," it said.

And starvingly, Naruto did before his eyes were even open. The soupy mixture was half gone by the time he peeled them apart to figure out where he was.

When he finally did, he was all the more confused.

"Dad?" he croaked out.

Seated beside his supine position his father smiled gently. "Yes." He set the now-empty can to the side. "You've been unconscious for quite some time. I was getting worried."

How had he ended up unconscious again? Oh yeah. Killer B knocked him out. But really he hadn't given the man any other choice when he'd started freaking out. Naruto frowned remembering the events.

"So now what happens to me?"

"Recovery. You may have noticed your legs were numb earlier. That's from suspension trauma, and there's no telling what else is wrong with you because of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. You'll need to eat, exercise, and take care of the basics before we move on. "

Naruto made to sit up but instantly stopped as he brought his hands up. Wood bound them together tightly. And not just any wood. The First Hokage's kind.

"Why are my hands tied?"

Minato drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience but there are things we need to talk about that won't be...easy to hear. Things that might take a while to process. Not to mention none of us know the extent of the genjutsu you were under. What it might have done to you...Or your mental state."

 _Us?_

"You seem normal but..."

"Minato, don't babble, the more precise you are the easier this will be for him to process."

Naruto looked towards the direction the words had came from, not recognizing the voice right away. A figure with dark eyes like his father and snow white hair met his gaze sternly. Tobirama. Yes, now he recalled him in the war, that last hour. And now he was seated further back, beside his elder brother. And the Third Hokage.

"Gramps?" Naruto asked puzzledly. "And you two geezers. What are all you doing here?"

Here, a barren room of wooden walls and flooring. A few cans of soup and other foods were boxed to the side, but in dwindling amount, along with a large canteen of what looked like dirty water.

If he was with the reanimated Hokage, they wouldn't have needed to stock up on food. Killer B would be the one in need of it. And him now, he supposed, if he was going to be staying here. He doubted they would give him any other choice judging by Killer B's previous actions.

He remembered that before he'd been knocked out, B kept going on about getting him away from the Tree and to a base. This must be the base.

The Third, Hiruzen was the one to answer his question. He came forward, seating himself beside him and his father. Hope radiated off him sincerely, and kindness as he spoke in a calm tone. "We've been in hiding, trying to find the opportune moment to grab you. I don't know how long it's been since this mess began, there is no way of telling time anymore save by the earth's decay, but fortune smiled on us for once and we finally have you. With you free from the great genjutsu we almost have a fighting chance again."

"Genjutsu?" he croaked.

"Yes." Minato leaned forward. "The Infinite Tsukuyomi. But before we get to that, I want you to tell me what you last remember of the Fourth War."

Naruto shifted back down, biting his lip. "I remember..."

Again he felt pain in his head, his soul, trying to remember all the way back. To understand why he was here, in such a dead world. "Madara was somehow successful activating it...But Sasuke was able to protect our team."

Minato shook his head somberly. Naruto paused but he just urged him to continue on. "Tell me what you think happened after that point."

"Eventually...Kaguya was revived and we—"

The Second Hokage jumped. "How do you know that?! You were under when that happened!"

"Let the boy speak without interruption little brother..." Hashirama rubbed his chin, muttering under his breath "Although that is a very good question."

Minato seemed as equally puzzled. "Tell me more about what it is that you remember."

"We fought, it was crazy...She was crazy. Could do all kinds of weird tricks with dimensions and junk. But we won in the end. The war was over and we finally had real peace for the first time."

He felt a hand touch his shoulder, looked down to see it was a slightly gnarled with age-spots dotted across it. The Third.

"Naruto," Hiruzen said carefully, as though he was speaking to a four-year-old. "Sasuke's Susanoo failed."

"What?"

"You were captured like everyone else. And the rest of your story, whatever it may be, is not reality. I don't know how you knew of Kaguya but her defeat never came to pass"

He could not stop his eyes from glossing over. "But we won. And I became Hokage! And my wife! She's—"

Now it was Minato's turn. "Naruto. Your memories aren't real—"

He couldn't bear to sit still. He shot up, yelling "But her chakra is gone! Hinata's chakra-A Zetsu took over! How would I know that if my memories aren't' real, huh!?

The way they were staring at him... "I'm not crazy!" he protested.

Lord First's hand reached forward and wood sprang forth from the ground, threatening to wrap around him. "Calm down, Naruto. Sit."

"I can't! I can't believe that everything is just an illusion! It was real! Everything I _felt_ , and—"

Hiruzen was relentless. His aged hands tightened on Naruto's shoulders and he couldn't help give into the emotions whirling around inside him.

"What I felt," he cried, "that can't be fake!"

"Naruto..." Minato leaned into him, chin tucking itself over his shoulder as if to hug. But Madara's abilities had left his reanimated form without his arms to wrap around his son. "I'm sorry you're going through this, that things have gotten so bad but you must remember that genjutsu is an attack on the brain and the brain can play tricks with all of your senses—"

"I finally had a family of my own," he cried. "I had a family! My brain couldn't have faked that, not what I felt in my heart for them."

Minato jerked backward. "What?!"

Naruto smiled, crying still. "I've been wanting to say that for so long! A family. No more coming home to an empty apartment, no more sleeping alone. For the first time, I was complete, and it only became bigger when I became Hokage."

"You had a f-family?"

"My very own. I had Hinata, and a little girl, the most adorable little thing, and a son! My lands he was the spitting image of me! I finally know how you and mom felt. I would die for them. And I told them every chance I got about you. I wanted to tell you so bad about them."

Now Minato was crying, his of excitement. "Me, a grandpa!"

"Minato," Tobirama snapped. "Don't entertain his delusions!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "I'm not delusional! If I was how would I have known about the Zetsu transformations? I saw it happen outside the tree too. How, huh!"

"I don't know..." he growled.

Naruto continued, shaking his head. "And now she's gone. And Shikamaru, and so many others!"

"And more are following every hour!"

"Brother," Hashirama chided. "Without the other key, we can't do anything about that. Let the boy recover before you try to push him."

"I'm not messed up, though! I know how I felt! I know not all of it could have been possibly true but the core, I can feel it in my gut, it's like it's calling me."

"Consider this," the Third said. "During the war you shared your chakra with everyone on the battlefield. Your thoughts and feelings connected too. It's possible that pieces of everyone in the Tsukuyomi connected to your dream state as well. That would explain how you saw the demise of the Hyuuga Heiress. She would have been feeling her state weakening and that worry would have connected to you through the tree and your link."

Naruto looked down. "So we were only emotionally connected."

It wouldn't have been the first time. He recalled the genjutsu that had seeped her memories into him a long time ago, opening his eyes to her feelings, in an odd, even forceful way.

But...what about the _physical_ stuff?

He did not ask this personal question out loud, though, already predicting that the answer would have ended up an embarrassing personal talk about dormant instincts and desires.

Hiruzen smiled grimly. "I always wondered when you would see the feelings she harbored for you."

"Wait," he asked, shocked. "You knew?"

The old man laughed. "Naruto. _Everyone_ knew."

His face ripened further into a deep red. "Still, I can't...I don't see how all of it could have been in my head."

"He's right." It was Tobirama again, his arms crossed. "No one in the Infinite Tsukuyomi knew Kaguya. So how does he know about her?"

"The Sage of Six Paths told me about her after I died. When I came back and the jutsu started, she took over Madara with that nasty Black Zetsu's help."

Four pairs of dark eyes stared at him in utter confusion.

Minato asked, "Is it possible he wasn't far enough into the Infinite Tsukuyomi yet that he was connected to the last of us as well?"

Hashirama shook his head. "It's...not even likely yet that's the only possible explanation. That or perhaps by some intervention of the Sage."

"Or maybe what I saw was real," he retorted hotly. This was getting them nowhere. He needed to move, to sort his head out. "Now unbind my hands." He looked pointedly to the First Hokage whose brow was crinkled in deep thought.

"If you promise to remain calm. We don't need to attract outside attention."

"I'm trying."

And he seriously was.

Naruto stared into the face of the First Hokage, eye to eye, not wavering. "Do it. Now."

Hashirama touched the wood and it receded back into his hand.

"Keep your voice down as well," he mumbled backing away.

"Again with the attention," Naruto said, rubbing his wrists. "Is it from Kagu—"

Silence reigned as he stared out, mouth still open.

"What is it?"

His fingers curled on his right hand, nails digging into his palms until they brought blood.

Skin. Blood.

Pain.

"My hand," he whispered.

"What about it?"

"When we fought that last battle...We both lost our dominant hands. Aiming our jutsu at each other had been a stupid thing to do in the first place but..."

He traced the circle marked into his skin by the Sage of Six Paths himself.

Determination filled him.

If Kaguya won...He and Sasuke were the only ones who could fix things again. To take back the future. The world he knew, it was as real as he was. He just had to piece it back together, even if it was impossible for the end result to perfectly reflect the world he had known all this time. Even if the mirror had to be cracked, he would save and reclaim what was his. He'd do anything to get his family back, to get back his title as the Seventh Hokage.

Thinking this, he wiped his eyes swearing he would not break down again. It was time to show the Hokage the man he was now, how he wasn't the same Naruto from the war. That boy was gone.

Kaguya wasn't going to steal his victory, his family or his world. Not anymore.

He was the first key. And the final one...

He looked to the First Hokage, eyes ablaze.

"Where's Sasuke?"

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

 **TO BE CONTINUED IN:**

 **Part 4: God Sees Everything**

 _In a multi-scene of decent length for once, things take a dramatic turn for the worst...Like seriously, they do. O.O_

 _But trust me._

 _I will give you what the story description tells you._

 _Just. Stay. Calm._

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_


	4. God Sees Everything

_AN: If I tick you off, good! That's what you get for not heeding my warning! I told you to calm the frick down and I mean it! :) I'm evil. Very evil._

* * *

If Kaguya had won in reality...He and Sasuke only had to come together to seal her again to bring back the world he knew. Even if the mirror had to be cracked, he would save and reclaim what was his.

Kaguya wasn't going to steal his victory, his family or his world. Not anymore.

He was the first key to the future. And the final one...

He looked to the Hokage, fighting spirit ablaze.

"Where's Sasuke now?"

There was a length of pause. Then he got an answer:

"In all probability, being her sperm bank."

* * *

 **Part 4: God Sees Everything**

* * *

"Tobirama!"

The Second Hokage stared at his elder brother, eyelids thin and glaring. "There's no point mincing words for the boy's sake."

"Still."

Naruto, predictably, was fuming. Forget the fact he was just called a boy. "How could you say that?" he demanded.

"Kaguya sees herself a god," the elder explained, voice full of authority. "While she may find us and our nature repugnant, she still craves to be revered. With no humans left, there's no one to grovel at her feet as she so desires. So when her second coming had come to pass, and your friend was still standing, she took him." The man scoffed. "Ironic for an _Uchiha_ to have roles switched on them."

Naruto's fist swung, but the Second was fast, flickering from his reach easily. Naruto fumbled down from the momentum, crashing into the floorboards. He groaned from the impact, cursing at how weak he still was.

A hand reached out for him. Hashirama's. "You must forgive my brother," he said sincerely. "It's been...hard on us."

Naruto glared at the man, he knew he was trying to be kind, but that didn't mean Naruto was just going to throw his hands up and accept any of this. Here the Hokage were, while everyone else was suffering. "What's hard? You guys cowering from the Zetsu?!"

"Naruto." His tone was sad, his eyes sadder still. Naruto's words rang true, and the pain was transparent.

Naruto's anger wouldn't be swayed, though.

"You guys call yourselves Hokage when you cower in hiding! You think these walls will protect you from her!?"

"Of course not." The Hokage lowered his hand, brow knitting. He cleared his throat, lowering the volume of his voice as well. "We came onto the scene last and what we know of her is enough to warrant our measures. She's a monster. Took out even the Sage of Six Paths that had manifested from the remains of Madara. Her own flesh and blood. We could only flee before we too followed."

So they knew to fear her. That even the great Sage could not handle her. Not alone.

"She knows very well we're out here, but to her, we are cockroaches not worth her personal time. But you...You change _everything_."

Naruto sat up, getting at eye-level with Hashirama, expression lit in anger. "Then why am I, and I alone, the one who was freed?"

"Part of it was your own doing, the other the help of the Hachibi. But regardless, we only had a small window of time to reach for you. You were heavily guarded, no doubt as a prized chakra...bank. But the Zetsu had dwindled down just enough. Some event must have transpired at her palace I imagine. Something originating from the skies. But none of us know what."

Perhaps "the others", the rumored celestial beings even she feared. Or the ancestors of the moon. Regardless. Naruto's fists shook, his anger growing.

"If she's distracted by business, we break others out, like my sensei and Sakura, and we bring the fight to her!"

He was in the man's face, so much so that Minato had to push his way between them.

"Naruto, I know you want to save everyone but we already tried. You Jinchuuriki were the only ones that could be ripped out."

"Then we go after Sasuke and seal that witch away and undo the jutsu!"

Tobirama laughed, about to say something until his brother gave him a censuring look.

Minato sighed. "True we must have the both of you but he's in the belly of the beast."

"As her _toy_?" Naruto hissed. "No." He closed his eyes, remembering her tears back then. When she clutched both of their chins in her fingers and wept. "She sees as the reincarnated forms of—"

"Her sons." Hashirama finished, having figured it out. "Meaning she will be even warier, knowing how she was sealed last time by the two sons. She won't let it happen again."

"I don't care. I'm getting my friend back."

He saw himself stomping out of there, head high. What he got was him taking the first step and tripping. Hashirama caught him just before he hit the floor again.

"What you need," he said, "is to listen to your father and recover first. Then we will talk of...plans. Later."

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

Naruto spent most of his time volunteering to be on watch duty.

It wasn't to avoid the Hokage and their worry-filled looks, he just wanted to be alone and the Hokage granted him the privilege, knowing he needed time to...process.

The last time he'd slept, he'd started dreaming of his world again, awoke to find himself shaking horribly, his father yelling to the others for help.

He'd had multiple seizures like that since the Tree. Every time he began waking from a dream as if his brain couldn't keep up.

When he was awake, exercising his muscles, he'd be interrupted by the need to hover over a bucket, puking his guts out. That or through the other end. His digestive track was just as screwed up like he was. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra constantly healing him, he still felt so unbelievably weak and disjointed.

Not just physically. He kept finding himself hallucinating. But he knew the visions of his kids running around to be false, and it left him fighting off the impending depression. He'd be man enough to admit he felt devastated. It was hard looking outside only to see a decaying world. To know that every hour someone was being taken away, never to return.

Just like his wife.

Her smile. Her eyes, her embrace.

His kids.

To know his perfect world was in shambles, in a way that could never be fully recovered.

"Mentally, you're probably old enough for a drink. You'd told me you'd been there for a decade, right?"

His father's voice.

He came from behind him, kicking a crate forward. Inside bottles glistened. Naruto smiled dimly. "Ooooooh yes."

He grabbed one, noting how dirty the exterior was. But exteriors meant nothing.

He violently twisted the lid, threw it and chugged the thing. By now their bottled water was astoundingly low and what water was left felt contaminated. Thus, alcohol for drink.

"You'd said you had a son."

Naruto lowered the bottle. "And the Second said I was delusional."

"I don't believe you see it that way."

"No. I don't."

Himawari ran past him, giggling, little hair bobbing, skirt dancing. " _Daddy, look at me! Look at me!"_

"It's your future."

"Exactly. I just have to recreate it. Scrap by scrap. But..."

Sensing she was being ignored, she stood in front of him, hands on her hips, lips puffed. _"I said look, Daddy!"_

He could feel his eyes glossing over and he shook his head, trying to clear it. "My family will never be. She's gone."

The bottle shattered as it flew through the air, dissipating the mirage, and smacked into a giant boulder.

Dirt shifted and clothes rustled as Minato made to sit beside him. "Tell me about my grandson."

Naruto chuckled, eyes no longer just glossy. He wiped them before swatting at his bangs. Stupid things, getting in his eyes.

"I made so many mistakes, but I loved him—all of them all with all my heart."

 _And I refuse to make those same mistakes again._

"Naruto, you're not alone. We all have lost people we care about. Kushina haunts even me."

 _But my case is different._

Inside, a voice, not the fox's, rang. _Find Sasuke. Get them back._

And deep rooted anger seethed underneath the sadness.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

"We're going to need to scavenge around for supplies for the Jinchuuriki."

This was spoken by the Second Hokage, to the others in private. Or rather, what they thought was in private, as Naruto cloaked his chakra and listened through the wall. His own plans whirling in his head.

"She knows we have him, there's more Zetsu around. And the black one. He's on the prowl."

Ah, Naruto remembered the Black Zetsu clearly. The wretched little spawn of Satan and carrier of his mother's will. He'd enjoy ripping that thing to pieces. No, he would do much more than rip it to shreds. He'd make sure he inflicted as much pain on it as he could before he even started to dismember it. Alive.

"I'm concerned about the boy."

"My son just needs some time to process."

Then came Kaguya herself. He wasn't even sure there was a way to make her suffer before he sealed her away. Perhaps by dismembering as well...Only after he forced her to see her precious Black Zetsu destroyed before her eyes.

"He's not processing, Minato. He's convincing himself it's still reality."

"Maybe it is. Maybe what he saw could be real. His future."

"Minato, he's your son, you need to—"

What else was said, Naruto didn't know. Didn't care. Was rushing out of there, numerous of Sarutobi's and Minato's kunai in hand.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

It was moving day. Time to find a new hiding spot. But they had to stock on supplies first. There was a nearby village they would scour through. And it was this village that Naruto would begin his plans.

The Hokage saw him only as a tool to seal her. To use when they decided it was a safe, convenient time. But with their overly cautious nature, that time would never come. Not as long as Sasuke was in her clutch.

"Kid."

"Huh?"

Killer B frowned at him as they ran across the barren ground. "You have that look on yo' face again."

"I'm fine, man."

"'Ight. If you say so."

The dead land broke up only after what had to have been an entire day of traveling. But it was impossible to tell time, the Infinite Tsukuyomi made sure to that.

The village looked like a ghost town save for the giant roots weaved throughout it, holding up prisoners that they could not release. The occasional walking dead, caught in a cruel white grin, but they were easy to rid as the act of stepping on an ant.

Reaching what looked like a bathhouse, Naruto made to break from the group.

"Stay with us, Naruto."

He didn't even look to see whose hand had grabbed his arm, halting his steps.

"You dead guys may no longer need to, but us living people need to take leaks once in awhile."

Hashirama stared at him. Suspiciously.

Naruto just smiled. "Unless you want me to go right here, which won't be pretty, let me go."

Reluctantly, the grasp loosened. "We'll get you the medication you need. Just be careful."

And so, he made for the bathroom. Before he began running.

" _Daddy!"_

 _Don't worry, Himawari, Daddy's gonna get Uncle and we're gonna fix this._

"Dang it, brother! The fool's going after her!"

Voice rushed towards him and he smiled.

' _Kurama, ready to race the Hokage?'_

The fox laughed. ' _ **Break a leg.'**_

Golden chakra flooded his system, enhancing his speed and energy. He shot forward in a blur, relishing in the power. Behind him, the voices were fading.

Almost too easily.

Naruto glanced back only to see a flash of black shoot past him and towards the men trying to stop him from reaching the Tree.

Black Zetsu.

It would hold them off for just a short bit, but just enough to allow him to get away.

 _I'm sorry Gramps, Dad, but I need to do this._

A chakra hand spiraled in front of him, grabbing an overhead tree limb, and he swung forward, even faster.

 _Sasuke!_

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

A grand traditional palace, stricken with age but still great nonetheless, rested further than he'd thought. But close enough to the tree that he found it easily. Could sense her chakra inside. And Sasuke's.

He fought back a shiver, feeling Kaguya's presence. Just it alone felt terrifyingly immense, so unworldly. A celestial being...

But her raping the world ended today.

Approaching the outer gates, a swarm of Zetsu surrounded him.

The fire inside him was burning explosively. "You guys picked the wrong guy to tick off."

Kurama chuckled. ' _ **Let loose.'**_

And he did, swinging tendrils of chakra madly, slashing through the horde. And a horde it was, there had to have been thousands. For every hundred he cut through, another hundred took their place.

' _ **Destroy them!'**_

Even if they'd been humans in the past, there was no reversing—

Hinata.

He was suddenly seeing her on the ground, weakened. A cool rag on her forehead.

"Honey!"

His arms raced for her, only to touch a Zetsu. He froze up, overly apprehensive of the being in front of him. Just who was he slashing through?

' _ **Snap out of it, you idiot!'**_

Refreshing his resolve, he tore the thing apart, moved for the next one when suddenly something wrapped around his limbs. Seizing them and arresting him in his spot.

" **What a fool."**

He gritted his teeth. "Black."

" **Did you come here to be freed from your pathetic existence?"** it trilled into his ear, tightening its hold on him. He grimaced, lungs struggling to breath. " **Or to go back into La La Land? Mother misses your chakra so."**

"I came...for her. Take me to her so I can deliver it to her in person."

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

She sat on a throne of marble. Her expression and the exact state of the room was lost to him though, as his face was being shoved to the floor. He'd been forced to kneel, his hands held behind his back by the foul shadow.

"And so history seems to want to repeat itself." Her voice was smooth, ancient. Almost hypnotic. Made his skin crawl.

"Sit up."

The dark shadow grabbed him by the hair, yanking his face upward.

She stared at him cruelly, fingers curled on the arms of her throne. Her face. It was beautiful but fierce. A perfectly shaped chin, lips red. Eyes hauntingly white. A sight to behold.

"Have you come to kill me?"

It was a moment before he answered, as he debated on his play. "I just want my friend back."

She was suddenly in front of him, lips curled in a snarl. "You came to seal me, then. Just as in the past."

His head was slammed forward, his face crashing into the floor, and pain exploded from it, especially his nose. Hot liquid slid down his skin and all he could smell was blood.

"Hamura is mine," she growled. "He's the only salvageable brother."

If Naruto remembered myth right, he was the one who watched over her on the moon. Hagomoro had been the core instigator before that point.

" **What do we do with him, Mother? Kill this one since we have the other?"**

"No."

His face hidden by the floor, Naruto smiled.

"He still has chakra that is mine. We will continue to harvest it."

 _Perfect._

"Do whatever you will," he said, letting the tenseness in his body go. "I know I can't fight you. You're just too powerful."

Sensing the surrender in his voice, her fingers curled under his chin lifting it up to meet hers.

"Oh, child. You wretched thing, you _dear_ wretched thing."

He kept his eyes on the floor. "I can't even dream to take you out. No matter how badly I want to for the people I've lost. All I can do is surrender myself to you and pray for your mercy for deeds committed cruelly to you in the past. Take my chakra, just let me see brother again. I'm...I'm _begging_ you."

He fought back the grimace as his chakra seeped from him though just her skeleton-like fingers alone.

"Mercy seems too generous...But perhaps if you prove yourself, swear loyalty, your chakra, and live as a _slave_. But even then you're not permitted to see—"

Footsteps.

Naruto's heartbeat froze, his eyes widened. That chakra...He couldn't turn his head, only watch as Kaguya's eyes moved, following the intruder.

They stopped. "What's _he_ doing here?"

Honest surprise. Maybe shock. Either way, Sasuke didn't sound happy.

"Go back to your quarters," Kaguya said curtly. "I will take care of him."

"Wait."

Sasuke. Sasuke was in front of him now. Naruto scanned him, taking in his traditional clothes. The weary look. But he was alive and seemingly okay. Great!

He tried to signal Sasuke with his eyes, his mind screaming. _We can seal her now!_

Sasuke frowned, ignoring his signals. "I've known him for a long time. Learned to read him."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. What was Sasuke doing? _Look at me, you jerk!_

"And I can see now..." He turned his eyes to Naruto intently. Both Sharingan and Rinnegan activating themselves. Blazing at him sharply. "How bad he still intends to kill you, Mother."

Naruto's hidden blade was ripped from his sleeve.

"Sasuke!" he screamed, struggling against the Black Zetsu's hold. "Seriously, can't you figure out that—"

He didn't have time to finish before Sasuke drove forward, howling "God sees everything!"

The knife in his hand went straight through his chest, lit with electricity. And Naruto stumbled back, screaming from the explosive pain.

"Augh!" Blood rushed to his mouth, and he gagged.

Pain.

Betrayal.

 _Sasuke!_

He tried to speak but only sound of gurgling blood came.

And then he was falling, the blade sliding out of him.

He crashed limply to the floor, in a spreading pool of his own blood. So much...Already he could feel coldness take hold of him as he struggled desperately just to breath. But he could not.

 _No, no, no! This can't be happening!_

The last thing he saw was Kaguya, scowling at Sasuke. "What a waste!" A sharp slap rang through the air. " You will clean up your mess and pay for the chakra I just lost!"

And Sasuke, expressionless as he surrendered the blade to her. "Yes, Mother."

 _Thump. Thump...Thump..._

 _..._

 _I can't...Please! No!_

He gave a wordless cry before he lost consciousness—life—altogether, the vision of Sasuke's eyes still burned into his retinas.

The searing words, _god sees everything._

And death came.


	5. Sucker Punched

**_AN: Things aren't always what they seem..._**

 **Okay, I pulled something _way_ too soon. I admit that, it was cheap but I was able to do something with it, and it's helped a lot.**

* * *

 **Part 5: Sucker Punched**

* * *

"God sees everything, huh?" The blond laughed, thinking back on the whole mess. _If only this idiot had too._

But how could he of, when he'd refused to push past his reckless anger and think straight? He was the one who gotten himself in this place.

He drew his knees to his chest, and leaned his chin into them, sighing as the chains rattled from the movement.

But they and nothing else could deter him from his smile.

_-xXx-_

 _Purples ripples, the eyes of the Sage._

 _If Naruto had really stopped to think about why Sasuke even activated it in the first place, some of the pain could have been avoided altogether. But he hadn't. Just felt devastation wash through him before death had ripped him away._

 _Temporarily._

 _For after that, a green light came flowing through him in a wave of warmth._

 _He gasped, eyes blinking open. Open to see Sasuke hovering over him, panting._

 _Realization dawning on him for what Sasuke had just done with his new Rinnegan powers, he could only stutter out "You seriously just—."_

" _Shut up."_

 _Naruto sat up, hands racing to find the hole in his chest gone, his body healed. Completely. This went with the pain from before, from having been bound by the Infinite Tsukuyomi for so long. He, again, could only gawk in amazement._

 _He felt brand new...and relieved on so many levels._

' _ **If it had been a second later...'**_

" _You just shortened your life span. Why'd ya do that?"_

" _She's gone_ _," he panted out. '_ _Now's your chance.'_

" _Was killing me the only way to distract her? I mean couldn't you have...I dunno, NOT stabbed me in the friggen heart?"_

 _Grimacing, Sasuke backed away, hands trembling. The purple of his eye faded back into its normal dark color. Under it, red dripped from scratch marks he had received when Kaguya had struck him._

 _Clean up the mess, she'd said. And he had._

" _She'll come right back around," he growled. "Run. Though I doubt you will make it. You won't, but run the same. Now!"_

She must have something on him, she had to. This was his thought as he sat there, in the darkness, contemplating why Sasuke had refused to escape with him.

" _You're coming with me!"_

" _Get, idiot!"_

" _You can't stay!"_

" _You're not the only one who—"_

 _His words were cut off by a sharp spike of chakra, an insane amount that could have only belonged to the god-like mistress from the outer world. A black space of void formed in the air, followed by the white figure. She hissed furiously, eyes catching hold of Naruto's in clear confusion._

 _"What's this?"_

 _Sasuke turned his face backwards, towards Naruto, an almost panicked look on him, which spoke volumes of their current situation if even he was freaked._

 _A smoke bomb hissed, filling the air with smoke, there was another flicker of chakra, this one a flash, and when the smoke cleared, Naruto was still there._

 _Glancing between Kaguya and Sasuke, he threw up his hands._

" _Well crap. You guys got me."_

_-xXx-_

From his cell, he could hear the hushed tones of Kaguya and her little friend, the Black Zetsu as they conversed about what to do with him.

He would have scooted even closer to the door to better hear, but Kaguya's ways to paralyze her opponents proved too great. She seriously wasn't something to joke about. The bulkly shackles and seals binding all his limbs and even his neck didn't help either.

It was this and other aspects of his location that proved to him how Zetsu had been utterly thorough in his plans to have her revived at full power. Even the palace. Its interior was beautiful and strange. The thing had kept it dusted all these years, waiting for her return. The halls shined, and the corners cleared of any signs of webs. Naruto may have put up a fight when he'd been drug into her palace's depths, but he had made sure to pay attention to his surroundings.

And for evidence of others.

He could feel chakra that belonged to some other human. He just couldn't quite place it. It seemed familiar, and not being able to figure out why just really irked him.

He briefly remembered Sasuke's words: " _You're not the only one who—"_ He wished desperately that Sasuke had had time to finish, but he hadn't and the past was unchangeable.

But not this sucky future.

"His chakra is still mine, but it's not at its fullest."

" **You collected it from the tree. Just take the rest of it in one go."**

"No. I want all of it."

What she wanted, Naruto thought, was to make him, the one who reminded her of Hagoromo, to pay and suffer. He knew for a fact that Sasuke was sleeping in a lavish room with this other person. Him? Chains in a dank dungeon. Yay.

Then again, if there were to be any more humans to supply her with chakra and adoration, she just needed Sasuke and a female. Thus the third chakra.

And that one wasn't even all of it. He sensed another, a great amount with a very unique feel to it.

Another celestial being like herself...

The eerie shadow chuckled, its cackles bouncing through his walls painfully clearer than their sentences were. " **Then let it fill and mature to its capacity. Then rid yourself of the brat. He's a troublesome one."**

She cooed, "He's a Jinchuuriki too. Has a portion of the Ten-Tails in him. And its power."

The rest, their resolution to their little problem, he hadn't heard. He wanted to hit the wall in frustration upon failure to hear everything. Sensing around and probing was one thing. Earing crucial intel was another. He needed to find out as much as possible before he returned back to the others...

But the chains were a bit of a problem. He couldn't bring his hands together at all! Of course, there was always another dimension she could have dumped him in, instead. It was by extreme luck or Sasuke's intervention she had placed him in a cell while she and Zetsu figured out what to do with him. That or the fact she loved chakra so much and why waste it on him?

He didn't have long to gripe to himself before a presence made itself known in his cell, and two bright, round orbs of yellow blazed at him from the floor.

Naruto jumped, recovered, and grinned mischievously. "Ah man. My suites gotta butt-ugly cockroach slimeball infestation."

It was fast, zipping towards him in a blur, almost completely invisible in the darkness. He recoiled back as its presence slid up his skin, enveloping his torso and left arm.

"W-What're you doing, ya freak?!" he gasped out, squirming. Ugh, it was disgusting! "GET OFF ME!" He rammed backwards, hoping to hurt it but took its lack of any response as that he was only hurting himself.

It laughed, tightening its hold until he was stilled riggedly.

" **I'll be purifying you of that detestable thing."**

"Wha—"

His left hand was being moved for him, and he instinctively hardened his muscles, trying to stop it. But the oddity had the upper him, squeezing him hard enough that things began to crack.

"Listen slime-ball, whatever you think you're gonna do to hurt me, you're only gonna get it back a hundred-fold!"

The struggle left his body screaming, tension building up, stress. Too much and he would...No. He wasn't ready yet! His left arm shot for his right, towards the seal embedded on his hand, and black mass shaped outward, forming itself into a knife.

"No!" It was going to cut his right hand off!

He cursed, time was no longer an option, and he couldn't afford to stall anymore.

" **Mother always win."**

The struggling came to cease altogether and Black Zetsu paused, wanting to see what Naruto was up to. He glared at the monster, teeth exposed in a cocky grin.

"I remember you saying crap like that during the war. But let me tell you something, and you pass it on to that hag. You think you won and you may have on a physical plain, maybe in other ways, but there's one thing you can never take away. Humanity's determination and free will...My determination!"

It jerked forward, the makeshift blade slicing straight into his wrist.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

 _He could still feel her hands, so gentle, timid. Hear his son bark cocky boasts, his daughter, feel the rush of air as she bounced around exuberantly._

He chuckled at the memory and whispered regretfully, "I'm so sorry guys, but no more."

In his hands was a box. He took this box and bound it shut with string, sealing it.

 _I have to let go._ This was his lone dictating thought as he continued the daunting task.

Filled with sad resolution, he began burying it, covering it with scoop by scoop handfuls of gritty earth, feeling each grain of it and the occasional rock or bone with his fingers, relishing in the sensation he had for so long lost from his hand. He could always feel things. But never quite like he had used to before his and Sasuke's final fight. It just...wasn't quite real.

Until now.

The box now submersed, Naruto closed his eyes, bowing his head.

 _This is goodbye._

His makeshift grave.

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

It had to have been hours later when Minato approached him again.

"Dad," he said, acknowledging his presence with a nod. "I'm sorry...About everything. I was angry. And stupid." He rubbed his head sheepishly. "So thanks...for earlier."

 _A smoke bomb, his, and a flicker of chakra that he knew to be his father's and the admission that this was a fight that he could not fight right now. The knowledge he had to leave Sasuke just as he wished to be left there alone. And Naruto gave up, throwing a clone out for a decoy. It just so happened it could gather intel too._

Going to Kaguya as he had had been reckless, but he still did not regret doing it. His body had been revived, his mind, knowing that one of his family, Sasuke, was still out there. He was still sad for the others, nothing would take that away, but he was accepting of it now. Realized how stupid he had acted earlier in his grief. Spent hours apologizing and getting chastised by the other Hokage. (And he hadn't even told him how he'd nearly been killed for good. Just told them that he could gather intel this way. )

Unpredictability was the key. Perhaps their only one.

And inside connections.

Minato sat beside him. Just being with him as they waited for the intel to come. Only then could they even dream to conjure a plan that wasn't a suicide mission.

Suddenly he blinked, brain filling with new information as if a memory was being drug out from the recesses of his being and he grabbed his arm, wincing.

"What is it?" Minato asked, sensing the change, almost like a charge, in the air.

"There's more. More celestial and normal beings in the picture."

Minato's brow crinkled. "The Second was right."

Naruto shook his head. "No. More than one of them."

"Who? A possible insurgent?"

"Don't know the situation. My clone was in a dungeon."

"Either way, this is good. We can use this..." Minato spoke with hope in his voice. But that hope did little to ease the feeling creeping in Naruto's gut.

Naruto looked down sadly. Minato, noticing, asked softly, "What is it?"

"Sasuke. I can't imagine what he's gone through, is still going through, what she has over him to force obedience out of even him but..."

 _He didn't have long._

_-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-_

 **Next Time:** We will get the other side of the mirror, Sasuke's side in **Sweet Dreams**

 _It all began when when the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast and he suddenly found himself the only living person left standing...This time, Sasuke's met his match and the results are humbling._

 _Kaguya decides for the future sake he's worth keeping. ...until an idiot has to come and make things worse._

* * *

AN: Pairings kinda coming, or implied already perhaps? It's solely up to you guys for now but a certain someone will be interjected in and I'm not taking her off the roster.

No it's not Hinata. I thought about it, I really did, but I'm not going to cop out of what I did. Not gonna retcon it after turning the death last chapter into this "good outcome" crap I pulled just now.

It's not Sakura either. Her as a fallback is not going to match with canon but with those who watched Team 7's development's expectations.

TITLES EXPLAINED:

 _Awakening_ is obvious.

As is _Down_ _the Rabbit Hole_. _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ is a huge inspiration in so many fields.

 _Should Have Taken Blue Pill_ is inspired by _the Matrix_ , in which the main character is offered two pills, one which will keep him where he is now, the blue, or the red which will lead him to reality. Later, a character comments he wished he had just taken the Blue Pill. It is that side comment that inspired the chapter name. I mean, seriously, can you imagine having to suddenly cope with a crappy reality when you'd been living the dream before? This was also explored in one of the shorts in the far superior Animatrix, which explored the actual Matrix itself a lot better, how people actually react to it, and glitches, etc.

 _God Sees Everything_ was ripped from a line in _the Great Gatsby_ honestly. It's an illusion that poor Jack from Titanic—I mean Jay Gats can't let go of that ultimately triggers a grim hopeful obsession but ends his life.

 _Sucker Punched._ Oh boy, I'mma get someone's britches in a pinch when I say this but I'm not taking it back. I like the movie Sucker Punch. Love it first, I hadn't understood it, then once I took the interpretation that Baby Doll was really Sweet Pea's body and in her mind she went happily away even if she lost physically, the movie became so epic to me, but **it is not a message I want for this story** , (the whole we make the choice whether or not we win mentally or not, at least not in the whole sexual approach the movie took) but I will borrow a few things from it, like the mood of its opening song (*cough, cough* Sweet Dreams *cough, cough*), or even White Rabbit for a title reference. Or twisting title into past tense...

That all said...FIVE CHAPTERS! I mean PARTS! And with five we will finally see through another character's eyes! This has got to be the first time I've stuck so rigidly to a single character and it was getting hard for me XD But next chapter will give me a short break...But be harder to write with its characterizations...Oh boy. Hiatus will ensue. Maybe.


	6. For the Foreseeable Future

Can I be honest with you? About some **cancellations**?

Around 2013 I had a bunch of fics I just stopped working on. I want to continue them, but I just don't.

I'm afraid I've come to that point again. I feel like I have been at that point for a while but I don't want to be, so I fight and I _fight_ it but...well, the months between updates have spoken for themselves.

If you're reading this then you are reading one to three of my stories that I've decided to be honest about and **cancel for the foreseeable future** :

 **The Dream**

 **The Game Called Shogi**

 **To Start a War**

The last two have one thing in common. They're linked to that 2013 splurge. I was discovering Naruto pretty fast, getting into its arcs in a shorter period of time than most long-term fans. But those days of excitement and freshness are over. Especially in regards to those two stories.

The core of both of them is _A Game of Shogi_ which I had started back then. It's been a long time and I've grown since then, degressed a bit on other ends but all in all...

I'm just done and ready to move on to other stories. And even that's hard to say with my lack of updates on even newer fics.

But I still want to aim for them at the very least, especially with a Boruto anime series just on the horizon at the close of Shippuden in April.

And not only that, like my latest _It's the Fear_ , I've begun to aim for 4-5 chapters per stories. Going past that is just asking too much for me at this point in my life and at this point in the fandom.

Naruto is over. The next generation isn't. I hope to play with them some more in stories like _Indomitable_ which I've been excited about for months but yet haven't finished the first chapter.

Again, that speaks to my lack of drive.

Listen, I'm sorry the most about _To Start a War_ , and within the next six months or so, if I'm unable to get some inspiration for it again, I will post the plotline and its end for you guys at the very least. There's this fanfic I loved, was a huge source of inspiration, that got _so_ close to the end but wasn't ever finished (Daybreak, and yes its SasuNaru but I still liked it) and it just KILLS me, even all these years later. **I don't want to do that to you guys.** **So I will post what happens at the very least**.

Again, I'm sorry to do this. I'll still try but that is no longer good enough and I want to be honest about that.

 **If you'd like to know what I'm ever working on or what I think will be updated next, please check out my profile. I will continually keep that up to date.**

Finally, _Menma's Story_ is not on the list. Why? I don't know. It just made it as did _DruuunK Daddie$_ and my recent stories which honestly.. _.If She Had Screamed_ is a toughie...Might put it on the canceled, or rather hiatus list too.

I don't plan for crap like this to happen. It just does. It did. I've learned to keep to five chapters or so from now on.

I love you guys and I'm sorry. It's just the way it is. I will keep updating, it's just least likely to be the aforementioned.

As of now, here's what the list on my profile looks like:

 **PROGRESS STATUS** (in order of priority):

 **NARUTO FICS**

 **Seven Devils** : The First (of Seven) (no chapter of this will be posted until I finish entire story beforehand)

 **Song to the Siren:** Part 1: The Oracle

 **Indomitable Chapter 1:** Meet the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force!

 **If She Had Screamed** Part 2: Kakashi and Babysitting Don't Mix (Title not final)

 **Menma's Story** (A revamp and purging of Menma: Runaway) Chapter 1: The Planting of Seeds

 **The Game Called** **Shogi** Turn 8: The Clock is Ticking

 **DruuunK D &ddieS: **Ransom

 **To Start a War Episode 3:** Welcome to the Sound

 **The Dream** Part 6 Sweet Dreams

* * *

 **BATMAN FICS:**

 **Baptism of Acid** (A Harley X Bruce one-shot)


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